The heart of the Labour party is dead. As tributes pour in to Gwyneth Dunwoody, described by the formidable Betty Boothroyd as "the true heart of the Labour party" this week, Labour stumbles through a values-void, and questions its entire raison-d'etre as the house gets ready to debate the cutting of the 10p tax rate.

Boothroyd, no simpering wallflower herself, described her remarkable colleague as "a person who was genuine, generous and caring for others. Part of that was her great wisdom and her integrity ... She wouldn't stand any waffle, she was a debunker of humbug ..."

At the same time, junior ministers slip around on the issue of whether taking from the poor and giving to the rich is compatible with the principals that drove them into Labour politics. (Or at least not incompatible with keeping their job ...)

Dubious principals are, as ever, frantically justified by recanting lists of particulars or initiatives - such as tax credits that are in place for the poorest. (Who are to have their position at the bottom of the economic tree reaffirmed by the ignominious process of jumping through a myriad of hoops to beg the government for their money back.)

Generosity (all too apparent in the lavish and misdirected spending of other people's money during our boom time), genuineness and caring for others are all hard to find in today's New Labour - and if they are there, they are hard to spot through all the shape-shifting layers of waffle.

So it is the Conservatives who are calling for a resetting of the tax balance in favour of the poorest in our society, who are calling for people to be more empowered in their own affairs by simplifying the tax system. Yes, the heart of Labour has truly gone. And never has the party needed a "debunker of humbug" more.

If things are bad at home, go abroad ...

If a leader is in trouble and is feeling his authority slip away, what better gift can come his way than a common enemy? Gordon Brown has had a respite from his woes at home as he heads up the nation's disgust and anger at the diabolical behaviour of Robert Mugabe in the Zimbabwe elections.

But Mugabe's no fool. You don't get to be 84 and to have forgotten what a pair of slippers even look like by letting an opportunity pass. His response to Brown's attack? Having a little leadership crisis of his own, he reaches for his own common enemy: Britain.

I hope Zimbabwe is un-distracted by its leader's political fabrication of a common enemy and has the strength and support to resist. And I sincerely hope that Britain, with our prime minister at its helm, can persuade the international community that this support is needed and that together we can defeat what is a genuine common enemy - not only of us, but of democracy, economic stability and the people of Zimbabwe.

First, I hope that the suspicion surrounding one individual Muslim man does not infect the good work that is being done with community relations with the overwhelming majority of Muslims who are valuable citizens across the city; and second, I would like to report the words of a man from the neighbouring estate, Southmead (one of the more economically deprived wards in Bristol).

He described how as soon as people heard about the blast, and where it was, they automatically assumed it had taken place in Southmead, and not in the more economically well-off ward of Westbury-on-Trym - and that is how some local media initially reported the incident. "Don't judge us," he said. "Just because something bad happens, it doesn't mean it has to be Southmead."

When big things happen and we feel threatened, it is easy to jump to prejudiced conclusions: For the good of Muslim community relations, and for the aspiration of less privileged parts of our community, it is essential that we don't. Prejudice is bad whatever form it takes.